This is the dreaded “dark week,” when there are no football games Friday and Saturday. It’s even darker this year, too, because for the first time in quite a while, there are no soccer teams advancing beyond the sectional finals.St. John’s Prep’s 2-0 loss to Framingham last night eliminated the last fall sports team from postseason play.But there’s still plenty to talk about. We will have a 10-day buildup to Thanksgiving – plenty of time to tout the 100th anniversary of the Marblehead-Swampscott football game.Not only will there be plenty of nostalgia in the air between now and next Thursday (the old-timers’ night next Monday at the Gerry 5 ought to be a real big deal this year), there will be a sense of urgency, too, as one of the two teams will go to the postseason playoffs to represent the Northeastern Conference/South.Swampscott is the defending champ, not only of the league, but of Eastern Massachusetts Division 3 as well (by virtue of its Super Bowl win last year). However, if Marblehead beats the Big Blue at Blocksidge Field next Thursday, it’ll be the Magicians earning the right to the playoffs, and not Swampscott.If Swampscott wins, the Big Blue go. It’s that simple. Thanks to Beverly’s loss to Winthrop last Friday, there is no complicated math that needs to be done. It’s strictly winner-take-all.This is the only league title race in the Item circulation where one of the local teams has any chance of advancing to the postseason. However, in the Catholic Conference, St. John’s Prep does have the opportunity to simplify things a little, while in the Catholic Central League Large, Bishop Fenwick and Austin Prep will play on Thanksgiving to determine who’s No. 2.Here is a rundown of other area races that have relevance to teams The Item covers:Northeastern Conference/Large: Gloucester clinched the championship with its win two weeks ago over Lynn English. Last Friday’s win over Salem ensured the Fishermen of a perfect record in the league (the loss to Swampscott counts as a non-league game, since the NEC North and South are two distinct leagues). Interestingly enough, however, the Classical-English winner will be the NEC/North runner-up.Commonwealth Conference Large: Whittier clinched the title with its victory Saturday over Lynn Tech.Catholic Central League Large: Arlington Catholic clinched the title with its win this past weekend over Austin Prep. Bishop Fenwick can earn a runner-up spot by defeating Austin Prep on Thanksgiving. St. Mary’s completed its league schedule with a 2-3 mark – its first wins in the CCL/Large since moving up three years ago.Catholic Conference: BC High, which has already defeated St. John’s Prep, can win the league outright with a win over Catholic Memorial on Thanksgiving. If CM wins, there is a three-way tie for the championship involving the Knights, BC High and Xaverian – with each team 1-1 against the other two, which will invoke a tiebreaker. St. John’s Prep can be a spoiler in the race if it defeats Xaverian, as that’ll give the Hawks their second loss. That would mean that the BC High-Catholic Memorial winner would be in, either with a head-to-head tiebreaker (CM) or without any help (BC High). Malden Catholic is not involved.Cape Ann League Small: Newburyport can win it outright with a win over Amesbury on Thanksgiving. A loss would create a three-way tie between those two teams and Georgetown, which plays a non-league game against Manchester-Essex next Thursday. Lynnfield is out of the picture.Steve Krause is sports editor of The Item.